New budgie friends!!

[roseallen119]

Hi everyone! We just got two adorable budgies Buddha and khan. I have them in a cage that's about 3 feet by 3 feet. They are still super shy but do make some noise to each other. I've been putting fresh veggies in their cage and they don't go near it. I give them a pellet with seed mix but only find the pellets and shells left in their cups. I don't mind if they don't want to be touched but how do you do outside cage time if they're terrified of you? Should I wait until they are comfortable with us before even attempting it? With all the research we did I still feel lost. Thanks in advance!

 

[WilliamKenyon]

Congratulations on your new budgies ( do they have names yet?).

With the training first you need to get them used to your hands being near them. To do this you should put your hand into the cage many (for use of better wording) times a day without touching the birds but going close to them. This will make them see your arm/hand a normal part of their environment. You should do this for approximately 3-4 days or until they get used t you. The next step is to start to touch them in the cage. If they let you touch them give them a treat like millet spray.

After doing this for a few days you can then try to get them to step tp by pressing lightly on their abdomen and holding a treat like millet spray just behind your finger. After each of them master this you should be able to take them out and put them on your shoulder. I hope this helps and most of all remember to persist as they will probably miss behave at first, good luck.

 

[roseallen119]

Buddha and khan are the names. Ok so I got them on Friday when should I start putting my hand in? Right now I just go in slowly and change the water and food and leave them alone. I talk to them every time I pass the cage or when I'm sitting on the couch.

 

[roseallen119]

Also, can anyone tell me the sex of these two cuties?

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

The dark blue looks like a male..you can identify by the "cere" over the beak..one male budgies it is blue..on females it is brown/tan


Jim

 

[roseallen119]

The dark blue looks like a male..you can identify by the "cere" over the beak..one male budgies it is blue..on females it is brown/tan


Jim

Thanks!! I think they're still too young for the cere to turn brown yet right? I'm new at this so I don't know. The girl at the pet store said the white one was a female but I didn't really believe she knew what she was talking about.

 

[RavensGryf]

They're CUTE!! I love the second pic. They're both girls .

At this YOUNG age, if they were males, the cere would look a solid lavender pinkish color. Young females have that pale bluish chalky whitish cere. When they're mature, and if they come into the breeding mood, female ceres will turn brown.

* With certain color mutations, the adult males keep the pink cere. Those aren't males though

 

[roseallen119]

They're CUTE!! I love the second pic. They're both girls .

At this YOUNG age, if they were males, the cere would look a solid lavender pinkish color. Young females have that pale bluish chalky whitish cere. When they're mature, and if they come into the breeding mood, female ceres will turn brown.

* With certain color mutations, the adult males keep the pink cere. Those aren't males though

Oh no! Will they fight? They do make a lot of noise during the day.

 

[RavensGryf]

I've never heard of fighting to the death (or serious injury) unless it is an issue of not enough nest boxes when everyone wants to breed, or stuff like that. That is not your situation though .

I would think they'd become friends. All budgies have the occasional bickering which is okay. They are a highly social species and enjoy others of their own kind regardless of gender. However, it is very difficult to tame budgies who are bonded to each other. Usually when you see a super tame budgie it is because it is closely bonded with the human only.

 

[roseallen119]

Well that's good. I am fine with them bonding with each other as long as they're happy. I would love to one day give them out of the cage time but for right now they're still getting used to everything. I tried to take better pictures of their faces because the white one has a more pink cere and the blue one is a darker blue. The feet color is also different. Does that matter?

 

[RavensGryf]

I do see the difference in cere color, but those colors are both indicative of female . Some birds just have lighter or darker skin (feet). With Budgies it depends on the feather color. My Twigs is light skinned and has mostly light feathers, whereas Mink is dark skinned, and has darker color feathers with her mutation.

I look forward to hearing more about Buddha and Khan!

 

[roseallen119]

I do see the difference in cere color, but those colors are both indicative of female . Some birds just have lighter or darker skin (feet). With Budgies it depends on the feather color. My Twigs is light skinned and has mostly light feathers, whereas Mink is dark skinned, and has darker color feathers with her mutation.

I look forward to hearing more about Buddha and Khan!

Got it thanks! I tried just holding my hand in the cage so they can get used to it but they were climbing the opposite sides wall. I just cleaned the cage and talked to them from the outside of the cage. And they eat a ton! They will only eat the seeds and leave the pellets in the bowl. I've also been putting in fresh veggies but they don't even go near that dish. Any suggestions on what to do with that?

 

[RavensGryf]

My budgies (and parrots) took right to Harrison's pellets, but maybe I got lucky because from what I hear, not all birds are easy to convert. Mink is a bit picky about veggies, but she does eat them most days. She was easier than many budgies because she was hand fed and weaned onto them. Here is a good article on diet conversion http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[Kyoto]

They are beautiful. Makes me miss my little budgie friends.

 

[WilliamKenyon]

Sorry about the late reply but you can start the taming process about 12 to 16 days after you get them . Anyway i hope all is well with Buddha and khan. Also with the pellets you can leave th switch over process till when they are at least 2 to 3 months old.

 

[roseallen119]

Today when I was putting millet in their cage I caught the dark blue blue feeding the white one. Is that a normal thing?

 

[RavensGryf]

Today when I was putting millet in their cage I caught the dark blue blue feeding the white one. Is that a normal thing?

Absolutely 2 Budgies will pair bond regardless of gender. Twigs and his late friend Pix were both males and they'd feed each other. Completely usual behavior between budgies. Sometimes budgies will even try to mate with each other, or at least do the motions with no regard to the other's gender. Of course they know the difference between male and female, but if not given a choice, budgies really aren't particular lol.

 

[roseallen119]

Aw so they do like each other! Yay! I was really getting nervous we were going to have to separate them.